Küçük Çamlıca TV & Radio Tower (), or simply Çamlıca Tower, () is a telecommunications tower with observation decks and restaurants on Little Çamlıca Hill in

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is border ...

district of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey. The total height of the tower is , of which is a 49-storey reinforced concrete structure with below ground. The height of the tower's steel antenna is . With a total height of above sea level, it carries the title of the highest structure in Istanbul. The structure was chosen by then

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

after the Çamlıca Hill TV & Radio Tower Idea Project, which was opened by

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (, İBB) is the government agency in charge of the municipal affairs of the Istanbul Province. It is one of the 30 metropolitan municipalities in Turkey. History The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality ...

in 2011. Construction started in late 2016 and finished four years later in September 2020. However, the project was set to be completed by the end of 2019. It was inaugurated on May 29, 2021. After the tower was put into service, other antennas and antenna towers such as

Çamlıca TRT Television Tower Çamlıca TRT Television Tower () was a communications tower in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul, Turkey, which was owned and operated by the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation The Turkish Radio and Television Corporat ...

were either removed or demolished.

Architectural design

The tower is designed by Melike Altınışık Architects (MAA) firm, founded by Melike Altınışık after she left

Zaha Hadid Architects Zaha Hadid Architects is a British architecture and design firm founded by Zaha Hadid (1950–2016), with its main office situated in Clerkenwell, London. After the death of " starchitect" Hadid, Patrik Schumacher became head of the firm. At ...

. The building itself is a single piece structure, which was inspired by the

Tulip Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different colour ...

flower; a symbol for the Turks during the Ottoman period. The main axis of the tower includes the roots and feeder stem of the tulip. The viewing terrace and restaurant floors resemble a tulip bud that hasn't bloomed yet. Panoramic elevators rising from the ground floor to the top floor, are located on both sides of the main building. These elevators symbolize the Bosphorus, which both separates and integrates the Asian and European continents.

General contractor

The construction project was awarded to Saridaglar Construction following a public bidding procedure by the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. Saridaglar's scope included: * Civil Works * Construction Works * Architectural Works * MEP Works * Landscaping Works. This was one of the rare fast-track projects in Turkey. Due to the fast-track nature of the contract and complexity of construction methodologies, the project was subject to budget and schedule alterations.

Structure specifications

The tower is built in concrete on a deep foundation. A steel mast of height for radio and television transmission is mounted atop the high concrete tower. The total height of the tower is with its top standing above main sea level. It is the highest structure in Istanbul. Its cross section has elliptical form with the main axes of , which becomes smaller upwards. Each tower floor is high. Two

observation deck An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclosed from we ...

s are situated on the 33rd and 34th floors at height from sea level. The 39th and 40th floors at height host a restaurant and a cafeteria. Libraries and exhibition halls are situated in the basement floors. A panoramic elevator and a service elevator serves the tower. Çamlıca Tower is capable of hosting 100 high-quality broadcasting

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

s, without interfering with one another. It is the very first TV and radio tower in the world that can broadcast 100 channels at the same time.

Technical specifications

Project cost

In the first bid held on December 31, 2014, the cost of the project was announced as 73.1 million

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s. However, due to the changing requirements of the building, 3 new bids were made; and the cost of the project was finalized at US$121.7 million (381.8 Million

Turkish lira The lira (; Currency sign, sign: Turkish lira sign, ₺; ISO 4217, ISO 4217 code: TRY; abbreviation: TL) is the official currency of Turkey. It is also legal tender in the ''de facto'' state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. One lira i ...

s).

Gallery

File:KüçükÇamlıcaTVRadioTower (4).jpg, Küçük Çamlıca TV Radio Tower under construction (April 2019) File:KüçükÇamlıcaTVRadioTower.jpg, Küçük Çamlıca TV Radio Tower, construction in June 2017 File:İstanbul Küçük Çamlıca TV Radyo Kulesi, inşaat Mayıs 2017 IMG 5550k.jpg, Küçük Çamlıca TV Radio Tower construction May 2017 File:TV tower, Istanbul ( 1100239).jpg, Tower under construction in 2019 File:Camlica_Tower.jpg, Tower upon completion of construction File:Çamlıca TV Tower.jpg, Çamlıca TV Radio Tower (2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kucuk Camlica TV Radio Tower Communication towers in Turkey Towers in Istanbul Observation towers in Turkey Restaurants in Istanbul Tourist attractions in Istanbul Üsküdar Restaurant towers Towers completed in 2021 2021 establishments in Turkey